Clothes-ironing apparatus



G. ALDEN. DBVIGE FOR IRONING CLOTHES.

No. 26,005. Patented Nov. 8, 1859 UNITED STATES PATENT orrion CORINTHA ALDEN, OF CASSADAGA, NEW YORK.

CLOTHES-IRONING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 26,005, dated November 8, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CoRIN'rHA ALDEN, of Cassadaga, in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Device for Ironing Clothes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a plan or top view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same. F ig. 3 is a detached plan view of the tank which forms a part of my invention.

Similar letters of reference in the three views indicate corresponding parts.

The operation of ironing cloth not only requires bodily exertion and skill, but it is also injurious to the health. A device, therefore, which requires very little or no attention after it has been charged and to charge which requires no skill or practice will be found of real value to the ladies and to the ironing community in general.

Such a device is the object of my invention, which consists in arranging a box with a follower that can be forced down by means of screws, or by other suitable means in combination with a tank provided with a grate to sustain the bottom of the box in such a manner that the clothes can be compressed in the box, and heated by filling the tank with water, and placing it on a stove, rendering the clothes smooth without any further attention or exertion.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a square box made of tinned sheet-iron or any other suitable material. Fitted loosely into this box is a follower, B, and a cross-bar, 0, serves to force this follower down toward the bottom of the box, A. Said box fits into the top of a tank, D,

the edge of which is turned out so as to form a flange, a, and secured to the sides of this tank are the ears, I), which serve to retain the screws, 6, with which the follower is pressed down. A grate, E, is placed loosely into the tank so that its bars serve to sustain the bottom of the box, A, when power is applied to the follower, B. The nuts, 0, of the screws are furnished with handles so as to be able to turn them on or off readily. It is obvious, however, that the follower may be operated by lever power or by any other contrivance with equal advantage.

The operation is as follows: The tank, D, is partly filled with water and the clothes are dampened, as for ordinary hard ironing,

A. Great care should be taken to avoid wrinkles, etc. The grate, E, is adjusted and the box is placed on the tank, as shown in Fig. 2. The follower is now put on the top of the clothes in the box, the cross-bar, C, and the screws, 0, are adjusted, and the nuts, 0, are turned on, so as to press the clothes tightly down into the box. Heat is applied to the water in the tank by placing it on an ordinary stove, and in this state it remains from one to two hours according to the quantity of cloth in the box. The heat of the steam, which forms from the water in the tank, together with the pressure applied to the follower renders the clothes perfectly smooth, requiring no further attention than what is necessary in charging the box.

IVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The arrangement of the box, A, with the follower, B, or its equivalent in combination with the tank, D, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

CORINTHA ALDEN.

Witnesses A. B. FISHER, MARION F. FISHER.

and' neatly folded and placed into the box, 

